MANILA, Philippines – Why can it cost more to fly to one of the Philippines’ many island paradises than to leave the country altogether?

Tourism Undersecretary Stanley Ng explained that it was a matter of airport economics – how many passengers an airport can handle, and how many hours a day airlines can actually fly there.

Ng should know the business particularly well. Before joining the Department of Tourism (DOT) in June, he headed flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) as its president and chief operating officer.

“‘Yun lagi ang question, bakit mas mahal po papuntang Siargao? Mas malayo naman yung Davao sa Manila (That’s always the question, why is it more expensive to go to Siargao? Davao is actually even farther from Manila),” Ng told lawmakers during the DOT’s 2027 budget hearing on Monday, September 7.

Destinations such as Siargao in Surigao del Norte, Busuanga and El Nido in Palawan rely heavily on smaller turboprop aircraft carrying roughly 70 to 80 passengers, Ng explained. Even with five round trips, that translates to only around 400 seats.

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Compare that with Cebu, where Ng said a single larger aircraft can bring in hundreds of passengers at a time. More seats allow airlines to spread the cost of operating a flight across more travelers.

Another constraint is that many smaller airports are not night-rated, meaning their operating hours are effectively limited because they lack the facilities needed to regularly accommodate flights after dark. That leaves airlines with an even narrower window in which to add flights and seats.

“Hindi rin po night-rated ang karamihan na airport… so limited rin ang time of operation — sa day lang (Most airports are not night-rated… so the time of operation is limited to just the day),” Ng said, contrasting them with airports such as Cebu that can continue handling flights at night.

The result is fewer passengers per flight and fewer potential flights per day, even when tourist demand is strong. For the airline chief-turned-tourism official, the only real way to bring fares down is to scale up capacity.

During the same DOT budget hearing, 1Tahanan Representative Elmer Catulpos cited industry figures showing 7.65 million Filipinos traveled abroad in 2025 and asked whether destinations such as Vietnam and Thailand being around 20% to 30% cheaper was pushing Filipinos overseas. DOT did not confirm that specific price gap, but acknowledged the strength of outbound travel.

Either way, the complaint is not new. In 2025, Senator Mark Villar cited an example of a Vietnam package costing around P18,000 including round-trip airfare and several nights, compared with roughly P18,000 for airfare alone to Siargao. A quick check of low-cost carrier fares also shows how stark the comparison can be, with some Manila-Siargao tickets priced above Manila-Bangkok flights. 

Tourism Secretary Dita Angara-Mathay herself acknowledged in June that tourism products in Vietnam and Thailand are generally cheaper than those in the Philippines – a reality she conceded just days before DOT launched Discover More to Love, a campaign meant to persuade Filipinos to travel locally with discounted airfares, hotels, tours, and other deals.

Government’s longer-term answer is to increase capacity. The Department of Transportation (DOTr) and Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, which manages several airports in the country, are responding by lengthening runways to accommodate larger jets and making more provincial airports night-capable, which would allow airlines to add flights beyond daylight hours.

According to the Civil Aeronautics Board, the airports in Catarman, Samar; Siargao, Surigao del Norte; Antique; and Busuanga, Palawan are among the ones that can only accommodate smaller turboprops because of their short runways.

Busuanga Airport is getting a 2,100-meter runway capable of accommodating larger jet aircraft, which the DOTr says should abe completed by Q1 2027. Siargao’s terminal, meanwhile, is being expanded and the government is also looking to extend its runway.

For more immediate relief, Ng said DOT is also finalizing a possible fuel subsidy program, although it has yet to disclose its cost, eligible routes, or how cheaper fuel would translate into lower fares for passengers. – Rappler.com